Underdog Leominster earns title shot

The Leominster High boys' soccer team -- the 12th seed and heavy underdog in the playoffs -- continued to prove the doubters wrong and live a charmed life for the third straight time in the tournament with a stunning 2-1 victory over top-seeded Worcester North in a Central Mass. Division 1 semifinal Tuesday night at Nashoba Regional High School.

"I knew we had the talent to get here," said Leominster coach Steve McCaughey, whose team avenged a 3-0 loss to North on Oct. 15. "A lot of teams look at a 12 seed and say we don't belong, but we have a good tradition here. The playoffs are just a new season. We felt like we belonged, and it's nice to show everybody."

Leominster (8-5-7) has certainly played its best soccer when it has mattered the most. With the victory over the defending Central Mass. champ Polar Bears (15-3-1), the Blue Devils are now 6-1-4 in their last 11 games.

"It means a lot to get back to the finals," McCaughey said. "It was a real tough start to our season and they never quit, so I'm really proud of them."

Leominster faces 10th-seeded Wachusett Regional in the final on Saturday at a time and location to be determined. The teams tied twice during the regular season -- 0-0 and 1-1.

Leominster, which didn't even make the postseason a year ago, last appeared in the Central Mass. Division 1 final in 2010, when it suffered a 2-0 loss to Algonquin Regional at Wachusett Regional High School.

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Tuesday evening's start couldn't have been better for the underdog Blue Devils.

Only three minutes into the first half, the 12th seed struck for the game's opening goal. Senior Matias Curuchet send a perfect ball on the corner kick to senior forward Enzo Mutiuzabal, who headed a shot from the far post past North keeper Angelo Perrone for a surprising 1-0 lead.

After the game, Mutiuzabal, sporting a large bruise near his right eye, said he actually struck the ball with his eye to give Leominster the 1-0 lead.

"We've worked very hard on our set pieces, especially corners, and it's nice for them to finally pay off," McCaughey said.

North, seemingly rattled early on, called a timeout eight minutes in, but then started to play much better.

The Polar Bears looked to tie it up with just under 29 minutes left to play in the opening half, but Kweku Fynn was stoned by a tremendous save by Leominster senior goalie Rondinelle DePaula -- a common theme throughout the match.

North kept pressuring and broke down Leominster's defense later, but Mathias Cotto stepped up deep in the Blue Devil defensive zone and cleared the ball away from danger, keeping the top seed off the scoreboard.

Leominster almost went up by two goals, as Kobina Faibille drilled a 20-yard shot that was punched away by Perrone on the near post.

North had a golden opportunity to net the equalizer on a penalty kick, but captain Edward Boateng's penalty kick shot rattled off the top-right corner of the post in the 37th minute.

In the second half, North crumbled with an own goal only seven minutes in, as Maximiliano Delgado's free kick was headed by a North defender in the box and the ball sailed high and into the net, past Perrone for a 2-0 Leominster advantage.

"I'd like to dedicate that goal to my mom," Delgado said. "She just came off of surgery."

DePaula made sure the lead held up. The senior didn't give North any momentum, making a point-blank save off the foot off Fynn with 32:55 left, and later somehow grabbed a bullet shot through a screen by Derrick Acheampong.

"My goalkeeper was out of his mind," McCaughey said. "He made some great saves. My defense worked really hard. They've been the anchor for us since we've turned our season around."

North rallied as DePaula came out briefly after getting a yellow card and was replaced by backup Cam Cordio. And quickly the Polar Bears cut the deficit to 2-1 on Joseph Ahin's tally with 13:09 left.

Leominster's Curuchet was tagged with a red card late and will automatically miss the final.

As such, Leominster had to play the final 12-plus minutes shorthanded and packed into its defensive end. North unleashed relentless pressure the rest of the way, but couldn't sneak home the equalizer as the Blue Devils escaped with the emotional upset victory.

"It's been a long season," McCaughey said. "No team has beaten us twice this year. We came in saying that we weren't going to let that happen today."

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